Central Christian coach Jay Walter said his team's effort was a 180-degree turn from its play Monday when the Cougars were shut out by Sunrise Academy.

Gene Schinzel - The Hutchinson News - gschinzel@hutchnews.com

Friday

Sep 19, 2008 at 12:01 AMSep 19, 2008 at 6:00 PM

But Cair Paravel's Jeremy Wynne was too much for the Cougars.

Wynne rushed for five touchdowns and threw two more as the Lions pulled away for a 55-22 win Friday.

Central Christian (0-3) was playing its second game of the week - it played Sunrise on Monday because of flooded field conditions in Wichita. On that night, Sunrise scored early and often in a 48-0 win. To make matters worse, Central Christian's top player, Bryan Love, tore his ACL and is out for the season.

But the Cougars hung tough with Cair Paravel - a team with a 13-game winning streak dating to 2006 - during the first half.

"The first quarter is where we had been lacking. We needed to be emotionally ready, physically ready to play," Walter said.

That's what the Cougars did. They scored early in the second quarter after driving 40 yards in nine plays, capped by Sam Dye's 6-yard run, to pull within 8-6.

Cair Paravel then faced a fourth-and-4 at its own 35. The Lions ran an option and picked up five yards to keep the drive alive. That play came with 6:15 left in the half, and in the next 45 seconds, the Lions seized control.

On the play after the first down, Wynne hit Jake Copp on a post pattern for a 40-yard touchdown. Then on Central Christian's ensuing play from scrimmage, the Lions recovered a fumble. Two plays later, Wynne scored from 14 yards out for a 20-6 lead.

Cair Paravel scored on its first three possessions of the second half for a 40-6 lead. Central Christian for two fourth-quarter touchdowns when Dye scored on a 51-yard run and Greg Yoder scored from 19 yards to pull within 40-22 with two minutes left in the game, but that's as close as the Cougars got.

"We were able to move the ball. We just need to sustain those drives," Walter said. "And the big plays (by Cair Paravel) hurt us."